The Seventh Session of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Geneva,
Switzerland, took place from 30 November
to 2 December 2009. The general theme for discussion
was “The WTO, the Multilateral Trading System and the Current Global
Economic Environment”.

The Conference opened at 15h00 on Monday
30 November. Following addresses by the Chair, the Director-General, the
Chair of the General Council and heads of other intergovernmental
organizations, the Chair proposed the adoption of the
Agenda. He then opened the floor for the first speakers in
the Plenary Session. The Plenary provided an opportunity for Ministers
to make prepared statements in accordance with the
List of Speakers.

In parallel to the Plenary Session, there were two Working Sessions on 1 December and 2 December, respectively. The
Working Sessions were aimed at providing an interactive forum for
Ministers for discussion under two broad sub-themes: “Review of WTO
activities, including the Doha Work Programme” for the first day; and “The WTO's contribution to recovery, growth and development” for the second
day.

In his report to the General Council on 17
November 2009, Pascal Lamy said that while the upcoming WTO Ministerial
Conference would not be a negotiating session, it would be “a platform for
ministers to review the functioning of this house”, including the Doha
Round, and an occasion “to send a number of strong signals to the world
with respect to the entire WTO waterfront of issues — from monitoring and
surveillance to disputes, accessions, Aid for Trade, technical assistance
and international governance”.